Today, 7:12
Authors: LSM English (Latvian Public Media), Anna Luīze Ruskule (Latgales redakcijas analītiskās pētniecības žurnāliste )
The number of attempted illegal border crossings on the Latvia–Belarus border this year has exceeded the total for the whole of last year – more than 12,000 attempts have been thwarted. Border guards suggest that the 2023 record could also be broken, LSM's Latgale editorial reported on October 12.
To date, the highest number of migrants prevented from crossing the border illegally was recorded in 2023 – 13,863 people. The Daugavpils Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard suggests that this record could also be broken this year.
“It is highly likely, if the warm weather persists, because we know that last year, in mid-December, temperatures dropped well below freezing. That brought the situation to an end, but we still have many months and many warm days ahead of us until December. It all depends on the weather conditions and on the determination and organisation of those facilitating migrant movements – their capabilities and the number of people involved. The freezing temperatures in 2021 and 2022 did not deter people from crossing the state border illegally. Some individuals were found to have suffered frostbite. Those individuals subsequently underwent amputations of body parts,” explained Valdis Jukšs, Head of the Daugavpils Administration of the State Border Guard.
Border guards are assisted not only by the authorities but also by residents. On Saturday, 10 October, in Asūne parish, Krāslava district, with the help of hunters from Konstantinova, border guards detained eight people without valid travel documents.
Border guards continue to work at an increased level, and Operation ‘Vilkatis/Werewolf’ on the Belarusian border has been extended until the end of the year.
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